


Mars

by Rin_the_Shadow



Series: To Turn Spark [8]
Category: Transformers (Unicron Trilogy), Transformers: Armada
Genre: Alexis tries to be a good bro, Allusions to PTSD, Anxiety Attacks, Friendship, Gen, Jetfire tries to be a good bro, Optimus is a good leader, Rad is a good bro, Revenge, Starscream tries to be a good bro, Teamwork, adding Swindle back in, adjusting to Autobot life, alternate continuity rewrite, and also not-so-great teamworks, like seriously why wasn't he in this episode more?, paraphrasing things to fit new timelines, reordering of some dialogues, yeah we're definitely in AU mode now
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-02
Updated: 2018-12-02
Packaged: 2019-09-05 22:19:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16819576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rin_the_Shadow/pseuds/Rin_the_Shadow
Summary: Optimus Prime sends the two most unlikely teammates on a mission to Mars to rescue the newest Mini-Con. What could possibly go wrong?The episode "Mars" from Armada, tweaked to fit into the "To Turn Spark" continuity.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I was just going to leave any episode before "Crack" alone, but that was before I'd written like 7 other stories and enough interactions that to me, it didn't seem like those events would pan out exactly the same. Overall, I would say it matches up with some minor differences, and if you wanted to skip this one, you probably could.
> 
> I also wanted to write from characters like Jetfire and Swindle's perspectives, so there you go.

Even though he was pretty sure that by now, he knew about the training room, Starscream continued to use the rocky area surrounding the base when he wanted to scrap something. As he watched alongside Alexis and Carlos, Rad had to admit he didn’t really understand it himself. After all, didn’t the training room have like, a bunch of different settings? At least, it had a lot more than the rocks outside.

Then again, it didn’t really look like he was strictly training. Rad watched as he moved from one rock formation to the next with surprising speed and ferocity, almost snarling with each impact. Maybe he just wanted to scrap something, but it had been awhile since this had happened. Even then, it was a bit much. He had to admit, it didn’t really seem like something he should be watching, but Carlos and Alexis didn’t seem to notice.

“Think he’s gonna pop another cable?” Carlos finally asked, almost perfectly timed to a particularly violent swing.

“Carlos!” Alexis snapped. “That’s not—” She huffed and shook her head.

“Yeah,” Rad stepped in to mediate. “That’s a little much considering… But I mean, it’s not like he got cleared that long ago.” Granted, Red Alert had put him on a longer field ban than what was normal, from what the kids understood. Maybe the guy was just going stir crazy?

“Okay, okay.” Carlos waved his hands. “I’m just trying to lighten the mood.” Another set of rocks crumbled.

Alexis’s eyebrow twitched, about a single-second warning before she started in. “Well, next time, you can—”

Just then, the banging of a rampaging robot stopped. “Hey, guys, wait!” Rad stepped between them before she could give Carlos too much of an earful. “He’s stopped.”

That got them to pause. They looked up to where he was pointing. The seeker had come to an abrupt halt just at the edge of a drop-off. Alexis chewed at her lip for a moment, her shoulders slumping. “It’s because Megatron was at the last mission,” she said, “and he didn’t get to go.”

“Why would he want to after the last time?” Carlos seemed genuinely thoughtful.

Alexis shrugged. “I’m gonna go see if he’s okay.” She started off in Starscream’s direction as he went to settle against a mound he’d decapitated.

Wait, what? “Hey, wait! Alexis, that’s dangerous!” Rad called after her. Normally, they would be fine together, but this wasn’t one of those situations. There was walking up to a guy, and then there was walking up to a guy who was clearly in a rough mood, and _then_ there was walking up to a guy who was clearly in a rough mood and over five times her size. Didn’t she understand the difference?

“Yeah, Starscream is a little out to lunch right now!” Carlos followed. His word choice wasn’t the best, but then again, he wasn’t exactly wrong.

She simply waved them off, not even bothering to turn around as she continued. “Oh, relax! It’ll be fine.” The slight waver in her voice betrayed her uncertainty. Whether it was over the wisdom of her idea, or concern for the seeker, Rad couldn’t have guessed.

“Hey, Starscream!” she called up with a wave.

He stared at her for a moment, not really registering she was there. There was a split-second in which it dawned on him, and then, “Leave me alone,” he snapped.

Swindle gave a sharp beep that was almost a warning, but he started corralling the Star Saber Mini-Cons all the same.

Alexis didn’t seem to notice. “Hey, come on, Starscream. I know why you’re upset.”

“Yeah. It’s all about the Mini-Cons.” His voice took on an almost parroting edge, as if it was just something he’d heard someone else say.

“But that’s not—”

“I want to be left alone,” he repeated, a little firmer. To emphasize his point, he stood and walked away. Almost as if he’d known she’d keep trying.

“Right, but what I really meant—” she started to call after him. Had she missed the tension just below the surface? But as she watched his retreating form, she slumped, crossing her hands and fidgeting with a nail. Guess she hadn’t. “Jeepers. You go out of your way to help somebody…and all they do is _bite your head off_.” She’d gone for an annoyed tone, but when Rad reached her, her expression seemed more confused and upset.

Well, crap. It had been a bad idea to go over there, but that didn’t make it any easier to see her reaction. “Hey, Alexis, are you okay?” He couldn’t help the annoyance that bubbled up inside of him. She’d put so much effort into trying to befriend this guy. Couldn’t he at least put a little bit of effort into acknowledging that?

“I’m fine, you guys.” Well, _now_ her annoyance was genuine. “But I don’t think Starscream is. He’s gonna do something drastic.”

Did any of them really have an idea of what that was? Rad had to admit, even he didn’t think he knew what “something drastic” would look like, let alone what Alexis was imagining as she said it. “Do you think we should tell Optimus?”

She shrugged.

“Hey, come on.” Carlos said, and for a moment Rad cringed internally, expecting another attempt at lightening the mood. “Let’s go back to the base.”

Alexis hesitated.

“Come on,” Rad encouraged. “We’re not gonna be able to do much here. If you’re worried, it’s better to tell Optimus, right?”

She nodded and turned to follow them, not really looking at all convinced. Rad had to admit, he wasn’t sure if he was all that convinced himself.


	2. Chapter 2

Meanwhile, on the surface of the moon, Megatron was engaged in his own variation of practice. The Decepticon leader fired his gun again and again, seemingly intent on plateauing every hill or mountain, no matter how small. He grunted in frustration. Apparently, flattening everything wasn’t enough.

Finally, with a growl, he shoved his weapon to the side, lifting the Requiem Blaster and blasting the highest of them straight into oblivion. He glared after it for several moments, as if it had somehow personally offended him.

Seconds later, he was back at it.

Demolisher and Cyclonus watched from the shelter of the base. They’d been in the process of rebuilding the infrastructure destroyed in the Autobot raid when they’d noticed their leader and paused. They’d made some decent headway in the month or so since then. It had been better since they’d recaptured a Mini-Con or two in the meantime—the signal scrambler had been especially useful, a sort of last parting gift from a traitor. In a way, it had almost been poetic. But the Autobots had since developed a counter, and their successes had been fewer and farther between.

 _“Fine, then!” Megatron had snarled. “We’ve never depended on a traitor’s hand-me-downs before. We_ will _defeat the Autobots, and I_ will _show all of Cybertron what happens to those who betray me!”_

Their next battle had been a spectacular loss, and to make matters worse, Starscream hadn’t even bothered to show up.

“Hehehe…” Cyclonus cackled, shaking Demolisher out of his reverie. “Megatron’s gone off the deep-end!”

“Can you blame him?” Demolisher snapped. Really, you’d think Cyclonus would be a little more careful when he ran his mouth, especially with Megatron in rare form and wielding the Requiem Blaster. “After that last mission…”

Before Cyclonus could retort or Demolisher could continue, another ‘con marched over. Demolisher’s eyes were drawn to the scar across his Autobot insignia. It was seriously off-putting, and his darker chassis made it stand out even more. Cyclonus had once asked why he didn’t just get it removed, and Demolisher had learned just how adept _he_ was at preventing his crewmates from scrapping each other.

“What’re you guys staring at?” At first, he thought Wheeljack had caught him gawking, but then he followed his finger to the hole in the hull.

“See for yourself,” Demolisher replied. Wheeljack moved in to get a closer look.

“He’s really not taking this loss well, is he?” The former Autobot observed.

Did _everyone_ just want to get scrapped around here lately?

Unbeknownst to the trio, their strategist had followed the noise to see what was up, and had been listening in. “Are any of you planning on working today or are you all just going to stand around chatting? I don’t recall any of you having any personal days left, and we’re short on Mini-Cons.” He crossed his arms. “Meaning _you_ have to fill in for them.”

Demolisher resisted the urge to point out that their assignment didn’t _have_ any personal days, and that Thrust could take that high-grade slag and shove it up his tailpipe. “Just checking on our leader, that’s all.” He motioned the others to follow as he turned to leave.

* * *

Thrust watched them, shaking his head as Cyclonus grumbled about finally having something to gossip over. Not like these jokers wouldn’t gossip over work anyway.

The tactician sighed. These kinds of warriors just weren’t what he was used to working with. If he’d been working with a proper troop, the Autobots wouldn’t have stood a chance. As things stood now, their base was in ruins, their resources depleted, their numbers diminishing (they’d added Wheeljack, certainly, but he needed more than just ground troops if he wanted to win, and he couldn’t very well rely on Tidal Wave for everything). What was worse, Thrust’s reputation hung in the balance.

Just then, a sinister voice cackled all around him, echoing through the walls. A prank, most likely, and not a very good one at that. But then, Thrust hadn’t garnered his former reputation by dismissing everything that _could_ be harmless. “Who’s there?” He stalked in the direction he’d heard it coming from.

The laugh resounded once more, mocking him. “Do you think this is a game? Show yourself!” Thrust snapped.

“Ha, pitiful Decepticon commander. Don’t you know it’s _all_ just a game?” He knew that voice, he thought as bursts of static erupted from all around him, drawing together and scrambling up the ledge to form—

“Sideways!” he growled.

“Ooh, as brilliant as ever. So have you figured it out?” His voice dripped with sarcasm.

“Just get to the point.” He really didn’t have time to be dealing with this renegade. Honestly, he wasn’t sure why he didn’t just scrap him and find Megatron to report.

“C’mon, you really mean to tell me you haven’t figured it out?” He leaned forward onto his hand. “The sword, the shield, the gun. Weapons of three, and three, and three. Would’ve thought you’d know it by now.”

“You’re just spouting nonsense!” Thrust snapped, even as his mind went to work putting it all together. Weapons of three…each composed of three Mini-Cons, all of which resonated off each other, and none of which could defeat the others. Bah! It was almost too easy. Oh, he was dangling it in front of him, this renegade. But he wouldn’t let him have it, “If that’s really the case, Sideways—”

But the traitorous entity had already split into bits of data. “Just think about it…” His voice echoed as he vanished entirely.

 _Well, then_ , the tactician thought. That just left one last thing to figure out…


	3. Chapter 3

The alert signal blared throughout the halls of the base. Optimus ordered everyone into the control room. He knew the order wasn’t necessary for the most part, as most of his troops understood what the signal meant. Those who were still learning had at least been around long enough to know to follow the others. Still, he knew things had been a bit tense today, and it was better to give a verbal reminder than to risk a misunderstanding.

Most of his team was already there when he arrived, the exceptions being Red Alert and Hoist, as the medic was running a follow-up to make sure there were no complications from the spark transfer. They would join in shortly. Optimus caught Scavenger’s eye on the way in, following the veteran’s gaze to where the kids had crowded around the computer screen as Alexis furiously punched in codes.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

Alexis wouldn’t answer while she was absorbed in entering codes, but Rad turned and answered for her. “It’s a new Mini-Con, Optimus.”

“Another one?” Lately, it seemed like they just kept popping up out of nowhere. This was the third one just this week.

“Where is it, Alexis?” Carlos asked.

She tapped her fingers against the side of the keyboard. “Hang on, I’m trying to figure it out. Something’s not right.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, it doesn’t look like Earth’s surface.” Alexis punched in another string of data.

“The moon?” Optimus turned as the seeker beside him spoke up. “Is it on the moon where Megatron is?”

Optimus sighed internally. He’d been on this track since that last mission despite agreeing that it wouldn’t have been a good idea for him to go. He understood that he’d just been granted medical clearance, and he said he understood the reason it was longer than usual, but then, Optimus supposed that only went so far.

But before he could say anything, Alexis spoke up. “No, it’s not. Hang on, I’m getting a picture, I—” She gasped.

“What is it?” Carlos asked.

“What is it, Alexis?” Rad turned back to her.

She was almost ready to start bouncing in her seat. “It’s—it looks like Mars! The new Mini-Con is on Mars!”

A cry of disbelief rose up from several of the team, including Fred and Billy—two humans who had joined later. “I’m not surprised,” Optimus said. “With as many as fled from Cybertron, I wouldn’t have expected all of them to land on Earth, or even the moon, for that matter.”

Scavenger nodded his assent, but when he spoke, his tone was serious. “But it’s out of range of our transporters. Without a warp pad already on-location, we wouldn’t be able to do a direct transport. We’d be able to warp into space, but beyond that, we’d have to fly there ourselves.”

The kids either didn’t notice or hadn’t fully processed it. “Outer space?” Carlos beamed. “Can I go with you guys?”

Hot Shot looked distinctly annoyed. “We can’t go into outer space. None of us can fly.”

“What, you forgot about me?” Jetfire placed a hand over his hip-joint, the very picture of confidence. “I can handle this, no problem. Get in, get the Mini-Con before any Decepti-creeps, get out, right?”

Optimus really wished Jetfire wouldn’t do that. Well, that wasn’t really fair to think when he hadn’t started yet. _But you know what it looks like when he’s about to_ , he thought. “Jetfire, Starscream.” The seeker’s head whipped around. “I’m putting you on this mission.”

It would be good for both of them. Jetfire could get used to working with a partner besides Optimus himself, as well as having another flier, and Starscream could start off with a mission that was primarily scouting and recovery. It would help get his mind off of Megatron, and maybe get him a little more used to Jetfire.

He could see the hint of concern pass over Scavenger’s expression, but he was confident it would benefit them more than not. Despite Jetfire’s brashness, he would focus when the situation called for it, and did decently well at not rising to being baited. Not that Starscream had tried it with Jetfire as he had with some of the others, usually preferring to avoid him altogether. Their Mini-Cons would be there to mediate between them as well, which should minimize the chance of a conflict. Still, he understood he was taking a risk.

But if Scavenger was skeptical, Jetfire was doubly so. “C’mon, Optimus. I can handle it on my own.”

“No! Wait a minute,” Starscream interjected. “I’m coming too. Megatron will be there.”

Optimus suppressed a sigh. _Of course_ , he thought, _of course they’re going to try this._ He had known it would happen, yet part of him hoped otherwise.

“Hey, c’mon, Jetfire,” Hot Shot chimed in. “Why don’t you take him?”

He waved a dismissive hand. “I don’t need the trouble.”

Optimus didn’t miss the deadpan look the young warrior shot him in return. “What, are you serious?” Hot Shot asked, just as the seeker moved to start in.

Better to step in now, before it could escalate.

“I understand your concern, Jetfire.” He hadn’t expressed it here, but he’d spoken about it many times in their emergency planning meetings. “But with the mission as far out of range as it is, it’s much safer if you don’t go alone. We’ll be sending the Star Saber and the Skyboom Shield with you to minimize the risk, but dual-wielding them can be difficult. I would prefer to send the both of you.”

Jetfire started like he was going to argue, then turned and walked towards the warp gate. “I understand, Optimus.”

Several minutes later, they were ready to warp out. But when Jetfire relayed over the comm. link, he sounded concerned.

“What is it?” Optimus asked, hearing the gasp from Rad and Alexis.

“HEEEEEEEYY!!” Three voices called just seconds before Carlos, Billy, and Fred’s images appeared on one of the security screens.

Alexis buried her face in her hands with a muffled, “Yikes.”

“Well…at least they’re wearing helmets this time?” The strained edge in his voice made it clear just how far Rad was reaching for this.

“C’mon, you’ve gotta take us with you!” Carlos insisted.

“Yeah, we wanna go into space, too!” Billy added.

Just as Optimus started to speak, Alexis popped up from her position. “ _Quit wasting time!_ ” she scolded. “Just get out of their way!”

“So…is that a no?” Fred spoke up.

“C’mon, please?”

It seemed that was too much even for Rad. “ _No!_ ” They shouted in unison.

As the kids continued to argue their case, and Jetfire continued to protest, Rad turned to Optimus. “Sorry about them. They’re not usually this…”

“No, they are.” Alexis cut him off.

“That’s not really fair…” Rad turned to her. He seemed to think she didn’t really mean it. She’d just gotten frustrated and was arguing for the sake of it. “You want to take a step back for a minute?” _Like you do with Starscream sometimes_ hung unspoken.

“No, just…give me a second.” She pinched the bridge of her nose and exhaled.

Satisfied that they had resolved their conflict, he turned back to the screen. Just as he was about to speak up, he saw Starscream push past Jetfire. Anyone else might not have noticed the minute shift as he avoided the kids. “If you’re going to sit there and chat, I’m going on ahead. I don’t need the trouble, after all.”

Jetfire was finally able to shoo the kids on with a wave of his hand and a disgruntled, “Well, slag. What’s his problem?” before they transformed and sped into the warping field. But the harsh twist on the shuttle’s earlier wording had not escaped his notice.

 _Dear Primus, what have I done?_ Optimus thought. He could only hope he hadn’t made the wrong call.


	4. Chapter 4

Even with his speed and the warp gate’s boost, Jetfire had lost Starscream before Mars was even in sight. _Great_ , he thought. _Just great_. This was exactly why he hadn’t wanted to be paired with him in the first place. Just what had Optimus been thinking?

Well, whatever. He’d just focus on the Mini-Con for now. There was no way he’d find that much trouble on Mars, right?

“Slag, I just _gotta_ tempt fate, don’t I?” the shuttle huffed. He’d just have to hurry before anything could go bad. He landed on the planet’s surface and quickly deployed his Mini-Con partner, Comettor. “There you go, little guy. Just go and find the Mini-Con as fast as you can. We’re all countin’ on you.”

Comettor chirped his agreement, then wheeled away. All things considered, it was good for him to get out and stretch his legs on a new planet. Metaphorically speaking, anyway. Much like the Autobot second, Comettor lived for adventure and longed to explore new worlds. With the mission increasingly turned to combating Megatron’s Decepticons, there wasn’t much time for that. Once the war ended, Jetfire thought, he’d take Comettor to as many new planets as he wanted.

 _If they survived the war_ , he thought. Slag, he knew he shouldn’t think like that, but with what happened to Smokescreen and what nearly happened to some of the others, it was too real a reality to shake. Red Alert had gotten lucky with that spark transfer, and he’d said as much himself. If he’d had even a minute less, there’d been a good chance he _wouldn’t_ have survived it.

He heard the hiss of wind and the low rumble of an approaching storm. Comettor would be all right. In his rover form, he’d be able to stay low and ride it out. It was his other mission partner that worried him. Just where had he gotten to, anyway?

Slag it, this was _exactly_ why he hadn’t wanted to be paired with Starscream.

His comm. unit crackled and buzzed. The words of the human girl clipped in and out. He was able to make out the first part. “Do you read me? Over.”

“Yeah, I read you,” he answered, twisting the dials to try to improve the connection. “You’re breakin’ up like crazy.”

She said something else, but the static buzzed over her words. “I can’t hear you, kid. Can you do anything to…?” The connection crackled and severed. “Slag.” On his own, separated from his mission partner, not to mention the valuable weapon he was carrying, in the middle of a sandstorm, Primus knew how many enemies on the prowl, and the clock ticking down for all of them. “Well, isn't that just prime,” he sighed.

* * *

Meanwhile, the storm had picked up on Starscream and Swindle’s end, too. The Mini-Con had tried to convince him not to go speeding off, but nothing had swayed him. And now, even as winds howled and sand blew into places Swindle didn’t want to think about, Starscream stood, brandishing his weapon and calling for Megatron to face him.

Swindle chirped and beeped sharply. _Megatron’s not here_. And yet his partner wouldn’t take that for an answer.

He turned and looked up just in time to see a large, dark shape forming against rust-brown clouds. _Slag_ , he thought. It wasn’t Megatron. He could plainly tell that. But in this state, Starscream wasn’t thinking clearly enough to differentiate between them. With any luck, he wouldn’t notice and Swindle would be able to guide him away from it. He’d let him ride this one out, and when he felt more grounded, he’d direct him away from the area. Hopefully, he’d calm down before their enemy found him.

Suddenly, there was a scream of laser fire and a crash as it impacted metal plating. So that other bulk wasn’t too far from them, after all.

Unfortunately, Starscream heard the impact, and looked up just long enough to see the shadow. “ _At last I have you, Megatron_!” he screeched, leaping towards his target and leaving Swindle with less than a second to latch onto one of his null cannons.

It was only seconds before he realized his mistake. “Tidal Wave? It’s you? Alone?” Swindle could hear the rising panic even as he fought for a tone of annoyance. “You’re not the one I’m looking for! Where is Megatron?”

But Tidal Wave had other goals. “The Star Saber…” he growled out. “Give it to me!”

“ _Never_!” The seeker adjusted for that split-second decision of fight or flight.

But that split-second adjustment was a second too long. Tidal Wave transformed with a roar. Unable to transform himself quickly while holding onto Sonar, Runway, and Jetstorm, Starscream twisted and maneuvered in his standard mode. But the winds combined with the force of the larger bulk’s shifting around knocked him off-balance.

To make matters worse, Tidal Wave gave chase. Starscream had speed on his side, but the debris blowing all around him, coupled with his limited visibility, worked against them. This was exactly the kind of environment that gave guzzlers like Tidal Wave the advantage.

As they fled, Swindle looked over his shoulder just in time to see a massive servo reaching for them, and he beeped out a warning as he scrambled up the cannon to cling to his shoulder.

“I know! _I know!_ ” Starscream had just enough time to shout back before he lurched from the force of Tidal Wave’s grip. There was a sickening crunch of armor, plating, and circuitry alike wrenching and twisting. Starscream let out an agonized screech as his null cannons split and his linking bay severed.

He struggled for only a moment before he was knocked out of his flight pattern and smashed fresh and fragile wounds against the edge of a cliff. Swindle winced in sympathy, almost feeling the pain himself even as he held on for dear life. 

When they landed, Swindle shook for a moment. The force of the impact had thrown him from Starscream's shoulder and he'd skidded several feet before he came to a stop. He rolled himself over to see how far they'd fallen.

 _At least that guzzler can’t come down here_ , he thought.

But his relief was short-lived. Even as he picked himself up, he could hear Starscream groaning and whimpering, unable to move as pain exploded across the site. He hopped up and crawled beneath his wing to check if he could see how bad it was.

It wasn’t sparking and it wasn’t leaking any fluids, but that was about all Swindle could’ve said for it. He wouldn’t offline from it, but he wouldn’t be able to transform properly, and without his null cannons, his chances at combat were a lot slimmer.

As Starscream struggled to regulate his systems, Swindle could see the beginnings of a processor-overload. It wasn’t obvious, not with the determined gripping of the rocky surface as he tried to push himself to a seated position and the grit of his teeth as he forced himself to ignore the agony spiking, the phantom pains in his missing parts. To anyone else, it might have looked like simple stubbornness. But Swindle had learned to recognize it all the same.

With a determined snarl, he finally righted himself, cooling systems screeching into overdrive from the effort. Swindle heard the others chirping out their concern. They meant well, he knew that, but it wouldn’t help in this moment.

“ _I don’t need your sympathy!_ Now leave me alone!” he yelled.

They chirped amongst themselves, speaking almost too quickly to keep up with. The last thing he caught was Jetstorm’s promise to get help as they rushed away.

But Starscream hadn’t heard them. “Even the Mini-Cons have abandoned me now,” he sighed gravely.

Well, what was Swindle? Slagged energon? He beeped out once more, crawling over one of his servos.

Starscream startled for a second before he recognized him. At least he had the decency to look apologetic. Maybe they could just blame his earlier claim on the pain.

“I don’t even know why I’m here, anyway,” he admitted. “All I ever wanted was a chance to defeat Megatron.” He hadn’t, not really, not before he’d been abandoned, but Swindle wasn’t about to call him on it just then. A distressed edge crept into his voice, one which Swindle had learned not to acknowledge verbally. “They don’t understand what it’s like to be a Decepticon.”

Not that he had bothered to explain it to any of them. They knew Scavenger had seen some things, and he was in communication with Optimus and Red Alert, but they didn’t know how much any of them had figured out or what they even got right. The fact that he knew _anything_ at all was distressing enough for Starscream. That they didn't know _what_ he said just made it that much worse.

He remained in his position as Starscream searched for something to grab onto, something to ground with that he could crush and not worry about damaging. He’d completely retreated into himself, no longer processing verbally as he ground his teeth and gripped the stone until it gave way and crumbled.

That seemed to shake him out of it, as he paused and stared at it. Surely he couldn’t be that surprised he’d broken it.

Just then, Swindle heard the chorus of beeping and footsteps approaching. He called up to his partner, a quick _see, they didn’t abandon us_ , but he’d already noticed the sound.

As Jetfire stepped out, the two mechs stared each other down. The shuttle’s expression was near unreadable with the mask over his face-plating, but whatever he’d seen there, Starscream broke eye contact first.

“There you are.” He didn’t miss the way he tried to minimize his relief. “I’ve been lookin’ for you.”

He walked over and extended a hand. He sighed once, a little grounding of his own, perhaps. “Gimme your hand.”

To his credit, Starscream didn’t try to pull away. “Just save it. I want to be left alone.”

Jetfire huffed in frustration. “Look, much as I’d love to oblige you, I’m sure you’ve noticed you’re missing your entire backside. You gotta get back to the base and get that looked at, ‘cause I’m not gonna be the one responsible for my partners offlining.”

Swindle felt the tension in the hand he rested on. Ah, scrap. “Your mission is to rescue the Mini-Con,” the seeker snapped. “So do it.”

If he’d been paying just a little more attention, he would’ve noticed the tension in the shuttle’s frame, too. “Sure. Whatever. But why don’t you get off your aft and help me, at least, huh? Why can’t you just follow orders?”

Sonar and Runway had buried their faces in their hands. Jetstorm looked on helplessly, and Swindle could only squeeze his partner's servo and hope he wouldn’t decide to keep arguing.

“Just follow orders? What, like it’s gonna do me any good? You can’t possibly understand the humiliation I’ve suffered!” He could feel his body going rigid as he restated his earlier claim. “Rescuing the Mini-Cons is _your_ mission! _Mine_ is to bring down Megatron!”

“Prime-fragging spark of a…I'm trying to--” Jetfire muttered, then snapped up. “You know what, you’re right. I don’t understand. And I don’t even know if I want to.” As he spoke, he reached into his storage compartment for something.

Starscream saw the movement, too. “What are you--?”

The shuttle produced a pair of stasis cuffs, reaching for the seeker’s wrist and dislodging Swindle from his position. “If you’re not gonna go back for medical attention, I’ll just bring you in for insubordination,” he said shortly. “Then _you_ can explain everything to Optimus back at the base."

“You can’t be serious!” Starscream balked. “Take these off of me!”

“No can do,” Jetfire answered. “It was medical return or insubordination, and you made your pick.”

* * *

As they exited the atmosphere, Jetfire fiddled with his comm. dial. “Ah, finally!” he sighed as a signal hummed and whirred to life. He punched a button on the switch.

“What is it, Jetfire?” Optimus Prime’s voice rang through, concern lacing every syllable.

“I’ve placed Starscream under arrest and I’m bringing him in,” he informed him, refusing to divulge anymore than what he'd said he would.

They could hear the shouts of protest and concern even over the switch. Finally, Optimus spoke up, his tone now filtered down to one of resignation. “Go ahead and bring him in. We’ll have to go back for the Mini-Con.”


	5. Chapter 5

Jetfire sighed. This was _not_ how he’d expected the mission to go. Honestly, he wasn’t really sure why he’d expected anything to go any differently than it had. Just what had Optimus been thinking, assigning a guy who barely functioned outside of some revenge protocol? _But would this have happened if Optimus had been here?_

He didn’t have much time to think about that, though, as he felt the seeker behind him squirming and fumbling with the stasis cuffs.

“Will you quit struggling?” he asked.

“Will _you_ just leave me alone?” Starscream retorted.

A sarcastic answer hung just behind his vocalizer, but he held it back. If he was going to have to put up with this the whole way home, he should at least try not to make it any worse than it needed to be.

“Look,” he started. “I know the Decepticons are used to fighting for themselves, but the Autobots aren’t like that. We function as a team. If one member isn’t obeying orders, if he’s running off and doin’ his own thing, then everything falls apart. You get it? Everyone’s got to do their part.” That was the problem, right? He wasn't used to _having_ this teamwork thing as an option? Slag, there were really so many 'bots who would've been better at this than him.

For a moment, Starscream looked like maybe he was considering it. Maybe something had landed after all. But then all Jetfire’s hopes were lost when he looked away and repeated, “I _must_ have Megatron.”

“Were you even—” he huffed. “Fine. Whatever. We’re going back to Earth and that’s final.” 

There was a gasp. “Hold on a second.”

“Don’t start this again.”

Starscream pulled at the stasis cuff urgently. “I see him!”

“You’re not going after Megatron,” Jetfire spoke firmly.

“Not him!” An optic glitched, as if who he was referring to should have been obvious. “The _Mini-Con_!”

Now _that_ was another story. “ _What?_ Where?”

“Over there!” He gestured with the Star Saber, still yanking at the cuff. “On that asteroid!”

Well, that certainly explained why Comettor hadn’t had any luck on Mars. Jetfire focused his scanners, following the line made by the sword. It was a tiny point on his scanning grid. To be honest, he was surprised Starscream had seen it when he’d been so stuck on his revenge thing. “I see him!”

“You’re going to rescue him, aren’t you?” Just below the sneer was an almost pleading note Jetfire really didn’t want to think too hard about. At least not right now.

He grinned beneath his face plating. “Well, now you’re speakin’ my language. _Ignite!_ ” He fired his thrusters, ignoring the startled yelp from behind him. Oops. He quickly formulated a plan. With the Skyboom Shield, he wouldn’t be able to reach it himself, but maybe… “Okay, Starscream, when we fly over, you grab it.”

The seeker’s optics widened for a moment. “You’re asking me?” At first, he thought he might try to argue. Wasn’t like he hadn’t just given him a million reasons not to trust him with it, and he was probably thinking as much himself. “Okay.”

As they closed in, Starscream reached for the panel. “Get me a bit closer.” Jetfire carefully calculated the boost. Too much, and they’d skip straight past it or worse, smash into the rocky surface. He _really_ didn't want to drag a half-scrapped partner back and explain how he'd managed to do that on what was supposed to be the return trip.

Starscream jumped as the panel came to life with a hum. The Mini-Con stared up at them, optics wide at seeing two bulks immediately upon waking up. He probably didn’t understand what was happening, and he flinched away at first. Jetfire saw Starscream turn his wrist and recognized the gesture—an offer to take instead of being grabbed.

But before either of them could react, a burst of laser fire exploded into their backs, knocking them away and making Starscream hiss as already-torn plating and open wires were burned by the impact. Jetfire’s armor was a bit better, and he tried to angle them so he was between the worst of it and the blast, but he only succeeded in grinding the two of them into an impossible angle.

Worse, they couldn’t get back to the Mini-Con before Tidal Wave!

“I can’t move like this!” he cried out as Starscream struggled against him and their Mini-Cons beeped frantically. Slag, he couldn’t let the others see his panic.

Not that the seeker was doing any better. “Then take these cuffs off before they get us both killed!”

“If I could do that, I would have _done that_ already!” Even as he spoke, he tried to wrench his shoulder to get to them. Scrap, they couldn’t even cut them with the Star Saber at this angle!

Tidal Wave laughed in triumph, still barraging them with his weaponry. The Mini-Con seemed to feed on their distress, trembling as a hand emerged from the warship’s body.

Suddenly, the seeker diverted his attention from his efforts with the cuffs, giving the order, “Fire!”

“Huh?” As if echoing Jetfire’s confusion, the Mini-Con let out a series of frightened beeps, too fast for the shuttle to translate.

“I said _fire_!” He repeated.

This time, the Mini-Con’s message was clear. _I can’t! I’m scared!_

He felt the tension in their connected wrists. “We Autobots will protect you! The Decepticons will use you as a tool for war! Trust me!”

The Mini-Con’s gaze drifted, pointedly resting on Starscream’s wing. _Oh,_ Jetfire thought. “Keep talking, Starscream,” he spoke up. “That’s the way.”

Determination turned to desperation as he continued. “Don’t become a Decepticon! Save yourself!”

There were only inches between Tidal Wave and the little one now. “Shoot it down!”

Jetfire hissed as Starscream yanked, nearly crunching something in his arm. “Fire!” As the warship’s hand began to close, he screeched again, his voice cracking. “ _Fire!_ ”

All at once, the Mini-Con beeped an affirmative, turning back and shooting a beam that cut straight through the large servo and found its mark in the body of the warship. Tidal Wave screamed in agony as he lost his bearing.

Before he could right himself, Jetfire spun them around and swooped in again. This time, Starscream caught the Mini-Con, who all but jumped into his waiting hand.

The seeker twisted around expertly, climbing onto the shuttle’s back as he opened a transport hatch. “Ah, slag!” Jetfire hissed as his shoulder wrenched. “Do it, Starscream!” _Before you take my whole arm off_. He shut the hatch as soon as he felt the Mini-Con land, and Starscream flipped off and back around, covertly bringing a hand to his own shoulder. Jetfire spared a glance at the connections.

Well, at least they hadn’t broken anything. He gave an appreciative nudge, careful not to press into anything injured. “Nice work there. And hey, _we_ Autobots, huh?” But the seeker wasn’t listening.

“What is—ah, slaggit…” Jetfire followed his gaze to where Megatron hovered, Requiem Blaster in hand. “Hey, no, we’re not doing this right—”

“Megatron!” Starscream growled. “Now I will finish him off for good!”

“Oh, no you don’t!” Jetfire reached in front of him with his shield-arm to prevent him from darting. “We have to turn back!”

“Stand and fight, you coward!” Megatron crowed, cocking the Blaster.

 _Slaggit, Primus help me, I’ll—_ “No, Starscream!”

“I will fight him!” he insisted.

Scrap, he had to stop this now. “No way! We have to get the Mini-Con back to base! You wanna risk them taking the Mini-Cons?” He could only hope he hadn’t forgotten his earlier appeal.

That seemed to strike something with him, and he paused and turned. But it was just a second too late.

A loud humming rang out from their weapons as they emitted a strange golden glow. “What’s happening?” Jetfire cried out.

Megatron only smirked, an expression he’d thought he’d gotten used to after Starscream had started hanging around. “And now, the moment we’ve all been waiting for!” The expression turned downright sinister as the glow increased and a sphere of energy crackled and sparked between them.

He felt Starscream wince as sparks hit open wounds. Something very wrong was happening, and he didn’t want to stick around to find out what. “We have to get out of here, _now_!” he ordered.

For once, Starscream didn’t argue. The heat from the energy seared at their plating. They struggled to break the field as an invisible bond almost seemed to drag them back. _Slag! Come on, let go!_ Jetfire thought as he felt the explosion building. In a couple more seconds, they were going to go up like a funeral pyre!


	6. Chapter 6

They hadn’t looked back once in their retreat. Their communications systems crackled with static from the effects of whatever had just happened, but as they reentered the Earth’s atmosphere, Jetfire got a signal.

“Hey! Jetfire? Starscream? Can you read me?” Alexis shrieked into the comm. screen. “What’s happening out there?”

The Autobot second reached for his return switch. “Jetfire here. Over.”

There was an audible cheer of relief even over the feedback.

“Everybody, relax.” It was as much for himself as it was for the rest of them. His processor still buzzed and his circuits were still wired from the experience. “We had some trouble, but we’re okay now. We’ve rescued the Mini-Con and we’re on our way back to you.”

“And Starscream?” There was another note in her voice. What was she really asking? Was he online? Did he manage to go without frying his own processor? Did he manage to go without frying _his_ processor?

Oh, he knew this would get him in trouble. But after that run-in, he needed this. “Who?” He adopted a confused tone. “Starscream?” The seeker was already scowling at him. “I don’t know anyone by that name.”

“Very funny,” Starscream growled, giving his end of the stasis cuffs a particularly vicious yank.

“Ow! Slag…” Jetfire hissed even as he chuckled at his own joke.

Still, it had its intended effect, and he heard the laughter from the base. Even Starscream tilted his head away to hide the beginnings of a grin. Jetfire decided not to comment on it.

* * *

Back on the moon, however, it was a completely different story. Megatron groaned as his processor rebooted. He was dimly aware of Thrust calling him as he ordered his optics online. “Where am I? What just happened?”

Even as he spoke, the pieces began to fall into place. So that was the power of the weapons combined. It seemed Thrust had been onto something after all. Well, it was about time he brought back _something_ other than dismal failure. Thrust continued to ramble his apologies, explaining that he hadn’t anticipated the tremendous power and the explosion it would cause.

“It must have happened when they pulled away!” he continued. “When they broke the bond that was forming, it was almost like splitting an atom!”

“Hm…” Megatron weighed this new information. He could only hope his adversaries would have half the processor ache he could feel beginning to form. “And did you see what was forming?”

“I was able to get a reading,” Thrust replied. “But it wasn’t clear enough to form an image. It will take time to analyze it.”

“Well, then,” Megatron sat up, leaning against the smirk he felt creeping into his expression. “Things are about to get interesting.”

* * *

When Jetfire and Starscream returned to the base, Red Alert had wasted no time cutting them loose from the stasis cuffs, though he had more than a few words about correct application and removal. Jetfire had asked to speak to Optimus Prime in private about something they’d observed, and Starscream had made his way to the nearest wall and sat down. It was only then that Alexis noticed what was missing.

 _Yikes_ , she thought. That must have been really bad.

Apparently, Red Alert thought the same thing. As she made her way over, she heard him speaking to Starscream. “Looks like you were banged up pretty bad there.”

Starscream grimaced. “Eh, it’s not a big deal.”

Not a big deal? His whole back half was missing! How was that not a big deal?

Red Alert wasn’t buying it either. “Spare me the 'tough guy' act.” They had certainly been through that routine often enough. He spared a quick once-over, and then turned and headed in the direction of the medbay.

“He must be going to set up,” she thought out loud. She saw the Mini-Cons welcoming the new one into the group—did they say his name was Firebot? It seemed fitting, considering what she’d heard. It wasn't like just any shot would hurt Tidal Wave, after all.

As she passed by Jetfire and the others (huh, his report must've been pretty short, then), she overheard Carlos, Fred, and Billy asking about souvenirs. “Eh, sorry kids,” the shuttle answered with a shrug. “All the souvenir shops on Mars were closed.”

She rolled her eyes as they groaned. Didn’t they know Mars didn’t have souvenir shops? “Hey, Starscream!” she called up.

“Yes? What is it?” he answered her, sounding much calmer than he had earlier.

She folded her arms behind her back to keep from fidgeting with her nails. “I hear you convinced the Mini-Con to join the Autobots.” It was really kind of exciting, especially since it hadn’t been one of his better days up until that point.

But at the same time, she wasn’t surprised he’d helped Firebot. Whenever she’d seen him with Swindle, Jetstorm, and the others, he’d usually been pretty calm and sometimes even happy (well, what she thought happy looked like for him, anyway). Besides that, it had been the Mini-Cons who convinced him to give the Autobots a chance in the first place. It just made sense, didn’t it?

“I know you like the Mini-Cons,” she continued, starting to process this out loud. “That’s why, in my opinion, you belong on the Autobots’ side.”

His optics glitched as he looked away. It had a few different meanings when he did that, she’d learned. But she was pretty sure that this time, he’d just done the robot equivalent of rolling his eyes at her. “Spare me. My mission is to bring down Megatron, and that’s it.”

She sighed a little more dramatically than she needed to. “I mean, sure that’s what you keep saying, but—”

Before she could continue, Red Alert returned. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” he said. “But Starscream, I need to run some tests on the damages you received.”

The seeker stood and followed without complaint, though he pointedly ignored Alexis’s response. She slumped her shoulders a bit. It really _had_ seemed like he had gotten better. Maybe she shouldn’t have pointed it out? But then, Optimus also used the Mini-Cons to relate to him, so what had been so different about that?

“Must’ve been bad timing,” she chided herself.

She saw Rad moving towards her with a look of concern. As she’d looked up to see him, something else had caught her eye from close by where Starscream had sat.

At first, it just looked like a big piece of rubble. But as she moved closer to examine it, she saw the flecks of different stones inside it. Had he heard what Carlos had said earlier? But then, Starscream barely tolerated those three (much as she wished they'd get along). He couldn’t have…? But it looked like he had.

Excitement bubbled in her before she could stop it. “Hey! Carlos!”

He turned to her. “What is it, Alexis?” Then he saw it. “Hey, what do you got there?”

As the others crowded around it, Alexis beamed. This had to mean something was going right. She looked up for Rad, hoping he shared her newfound excitement. But his face hadn’t changed from before. What was up with that?

When he realized she was watching, he quickly schooled his expression into a smile. “Hey, that’s great, Alexis. Maybe we can break it up and study it sometime.”

That _would_ be exciting, she agreed. They’d be the only kids on the planet to have studied real rocks from Mars! But even as they went on about what they might find, her thoughts drifted. Maybe Starscream still claimed bringing down Megatron was his goal, but obviously, there were other priorities there, too. And going back to them after getting so stuck on Megatron earlier? That had to mean something, too. He was getting better, and she hoped he noticed it, too. Then maybe he’d stop struggling and realize he’d found a new home with the Autobots. With all of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've actually really wanted to write some things from Jetfire and Swindle's perspectives for awhile. I hadn't expected to do it here. It was actually a lot of fun to figure out how to convey the Mini-Cons' speech patterns while writing from inside their heads.
> 
> I had originally intended to just keep doing interludes up until a certain point in the series, but I realized some of the things I wanted to change in "To Turn Spark" start setting up in "Mars," and so I needed this to orient myself. I'm considering changing the fic's name, though, so that it isn't exactly the same as the episode it's based on.
> 
> In any event, let me know what you think of it!  
> ~Rin


End file.
